Today my department embarked on a new project. We spent the whole day in discussion about the benefits of electronic filing versus physical filing. When one works in a law firm, there are volumes and volumes of physical files. Every correspondence, draft and discussion has to be filed into a paper file. I have seen secretaries spending the whole day doing nothing but printing and filing.
I always thought all these filings are a waste of time. With emails and internet, can one not just refer to the emails and then read from there? Why do we need a physical file only to reproduce the same thing over again?
But when I started working in-house, I realise that there is no filing system. Everything was just reproduced in the email system or on their own computers. This cuts down on a lot, but at the same time when those people left the company, it gets rather tedious trying to find out information especially if you were not kept in the loop.
And then one of my former supervisors told me to make copies of all originals, and file the copies in arch files. Those will be used for reference, whereas the originals will be kept in the fire safe. This method bode well until the auditors started coming and they insisted on seeing the originals, even the signed and stamped copy would not do, then I had to scramble around trying to find out where the originals were kept.
After that when I moved on to another company, the correspondences and copies were not filed, but actual signed originals were filed. This system works very well actually, because then we know where all the documentation is and the auditors are also happy with us for being able to supply them with whatever they wanted.
Now in this company, I see that our Executive Assistant is always printing and filing documents. But now that we are embarking on an electronic filing system platform, perhaps things will be easier because by then, it takes a fraction of a time to sort documents out and will not be so tedious anymore.
Which is why we spent the whole day today discussing what is needed, what items to file, what categories and what matters we have worked on or are working on. Yet while I was in the meeting the whole day, suddenly all the urgent matters start coming. I need to handle and then be in the meeting at the same time. It is always like this, whenever we did not receive anything, it is so lax, but when things start coming, they really start coming at the same time!
I always thought all these filings are a waste of time. With emails and internet, can one not just refer to the emails and then read from there? Why do we need a physical file only to reproduce the same thing over again?
But when I started working in-house, I realise that there is no filing system. Everything was just reproduced in the email system or on their own computers. This cuts down on a lot, but at the same time when those people left the company, it gets rather tedious trying to find out information especially if you were not kept in the loop.
And then one of my former supervisors told me to make copies of all originals, and file the copies in arch files. Those will be used for reference, whereas the originals will be kept in the fire safe. This method bode well until the auditors started coming and they insisted on seeing the originals, even the signed and stamped copy would not do, then I had to scramble around trying to find out where the originals were kept.
After that when I moved on to another company, the correspondences and copies were not filed, but actual signed originals were filed. This system works very well actually, because then we know where all the documentation is and the auditors are also happy with us for being able to supply them with whatever they wanted.
Now in this company, I see that our Executive Assistant is always printing and filing documents. But now that we are embarking on an electronic filing system platform, perhaps things will be easier because by then, it takes a fraction of a time to sort documents out and will not be so tedious anymore.
Which is why we spent the whole day today discussing what is needed, what items to file, what categories and what matters we have worked on or are working on. Yet while I was in the meeting the whole day, suddenly all the urgent matters start coming. I need to handle and then be in the meeting at the same time. It is always like this, whenever we did not receive anything, it is so lax, but when things start coming, they really start coming at the same time!
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